Instant Shelving Made From Cardboard Boxes

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Recently featured on Remodelista: the home of artist and graphic designer Wendy Furman, who turned her second bedroom into a showroom for Whim & Caprice; her line of pillows and table linens. Not seen in the post was this clever wall of display shelving of cardboard boxes that Wendy created herself.

When describing the shelves, Wendy says it was about form follows function. “I needed something to display the pillows at home and something simple that had portability for shows. It wasn’t about the expense but the function. I made my first set of shelves for the Remodelista Market in LA and they worked really well. I also loved that there was this element of reusability; once the show was over, I could use the boxes for shipping the pillows.”

Read on for DIY instructions.

Above: Floor-to-ceiling boxed shelving in Wendy’s second bedroom. Wendy uses 18-cube-inch Corrugated Boxes ordered from Uline ($1.64 per box for a minimum order of 20).

Above: Wendy used 1-inch nuts and bolts for the front of the box where the cardboard doubles over; then three-quarter-inch nuts for the back of the box where the cardboard is only one layer. The box flaps are folded inward and screwed down with two nuts and bolts at the front and one in the middle at the back. The center column is attached together with a nut and bolt on either side of the the box.

Above: Use a screwdriver to poke holes for the nuts and bolts.

Above: Wendy suggests reinforcing each level with an extra piece of cardboard, inserted under the folded flap and taken from the side of a box if you want to make them to carry a heavier load. That said, the boxes can support up to 200 pounds in weight.

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Remodelista is a one-stop sourcebook for the considered home, guiding readers through the design and renovation process. Founded by four friends with a shared design DNA and appreciation for intelligent design, Remodelista counts architects, design professionals, and style-conscious consumers among its daily audience. The Remodelista aesthetic favors classic and livable over trendy and transient, well-edited interiors over cluttered environments, and thoughtfully designed products over mass-market, disposable goods.